Matt
I tumbled out of bed as the alarm clock blared its shrilling tone at the crack of dawn. Hell, it might have even been before daybreak judging from the dark stillness that still blanketed my room.
With Vanessa back in New York, I had reverted to picking up double shifts at my job to make an income that I could afford to live on. Now that I was in college, my father expected me to contribute to the grocery bill as well as the mortgage.
"Living isn't free, son," he would always lecture me.
With my eyes still half-closed, I rummaged around on the carpet for the first pair of jeans that I could locate. I had worked until midnight the previous evening and was barely functioning at such an hour early. Or would it be considered late for the night owls?
With grogginess, I robotically my way through the rest of my morning routine before getting into my car and rubbing the blurriness from my vision.
My lids grew heavy as I made the silent drive down the darkened roads, the streetlamps casting a soft glow onto nature as though they were a makeshift sun. I rolled down the windows to let the crisp morning air filter in through the car and slapped my cheeks a couple of times to wake myself up a bit.
"Whose idea was it to open up a pizza shop this early?" I grumbled.
The question was rhetorical as I knew full well that it was my boss who suggested the restaurant start serving bacon, egg, and cheese breakfast pies after he had seen a commercial from one of the competitors offering the dish.
I dragged myself into the restaurant under the watchful glare of Aimee but had little time to concern myself with her as business almost instantly began to pick up due to the curiosity of diners seeking to experience something new.
From there, a steady stream of customers had filed in and out of the shop until closing time. By then, my back was screaming at me for hours spent bending over to wipe tables and hauling heavy bins full of dirty dishes.
"Do you want a massage," Aimee cooed, pursing her lips as I rubbed the muscles at the base of my spine.
I shot her a disgusted glare. "No thanks," I muttered.
My eyes wandered over to the large clock hanging above the back booths and I sighed. It was late but the day wasn't over yet. I still had a mountain of schoolwork to complete, my only motivation being Addison's offered assistance.
I burst through her bedroom door just shy of eleven and plopped down on her bed with a grunt. She was seated at her vanity, writing furiously in a furry pink journal but swiveled around to acknowledge my presence.
"Sheesh!" she exclaimed, raking her gaze over me. "You look awful. Tough day?"
I dragged my hands down my face, hoping to wipe the exhaustion away. "I'm not sure. It's all been a blur. All I can say is that I suggest you have an ambulance on speed dial because I'm certain I'm on the brink of collapsing."
She smirked. "It sounds as though you are in desperate need of some solid rest. Why don't you take it easy tonight?"
I lifted a brow. "You'll use any excuse to evade doing homework, huh?" I nodded at the furball she had clutched in her grasp. "What are you working on because I know that's not the biology assignment that you were moaning about unless you're experimenting with breeding a new species of creature."
She snapped the diary shut and jutted out her chin. "None of your business. It's private."
"Aw come on, Addie," I teased. "You know I can't resist a juicy read. What is it?"
I slid off the bed, wandering over towards her and peering over her shoulder at the cover. "Give me a glimpse," I urged, making a play for the book. I snatched it from her grasp and managed to open it before she yanked the journal away from me.
"I saw my name!" I exclaimed. "What does it say?"
"It says that you're nosey and annoying," she reprimanded, a flush crawling up her neck.
I scoffed. "Well, isn't that the pot calling the kettle black." Grinning, I sprawled back out against her pillows and studied her.
"I wonder what offense I have enacted against you to earn my place in your diary," I mused.
"Don't flatter yourself," she muttered. "I write about everyone I know."
I gave her a wicked grin. "Oh, I bet! You probably spent three pages droning on about the sandwich maker whom you thought was cute down at the deli."
I threw my hand up against my forehead just as she would do when she was being overdramatic. "Dear diary," I joked, in a high-pitched voice. "Today, Nate looked at me and I thought I would die of pleasure. He's so hot. I can't believe he hasn't asked me out yet in the two whole minutes that we've known each other."
Addison scowled as she grabbed her hairbrush off the vanity top and chucked it at me. "Shut up. I do not act like that."
Snickering, I caught the brush before it hit me in the face. "Oh, give me a break, Addie. I've known you for three years. You absolutely behave that way. You throw a hissy fit whenever you think the object of your affection doesn't notice you."
She scoffed, turning around to stuff the book in a drawer. "Whatever, Matt. You think you know me so well."
As she fumed, I reached into my backpack for my textbooks, cursing when I realized that I had lost my pen somewhere. I winced at the realization that I would be forced to grovel to her for one as payback for making fun of her.
"Hey, Addie, lovely friend of mine," I started, putting on my nicest voice. "Would you be a sweetheart and let me borrow your pen?"
Rolling her eyes, she plucked the glittery pink writing instrument with the pom pom on top and held it up for me to see. But she didn't hand it over. "Is that the best you got? Your sucking up leaves much to be desired."
"Alright, give me another shot." I cleared my throat. "Addison, fairest in the land and Queen of makeup and all things shimmery, will you do me the honor of letting me hold one of your pens in my unworthy hands?"
A smile tugged at her lips before she erupted into a fit of giggles. "I'll give you an A for effort." She tossed the instrument at me, missing my outstretched fingers by about a mile. It landed with a bounce on the carpet.
"Your aim is terrible, but I'll give you an A for effort." I stooped over to retrieve the object, a sharp spasm instantly shooting up my back.
"Ow! Fuck!" I cried, clutching the base of my spine.
Addison leapt up from her chair, her emerald eyes wide. "What happened?!" She exclaimed. "I didn't hit you in the eye with it, did I?"
I shook my head, tears of pain pricking my eyelids. "Fuck! I think I pulled a muscle. I can hardly move." I inhaled deeply, exhaling out through clenched teeth. "Is this my karma for making fun of you?"
Instead of making some snide remark or agreeing that I had it coming, Addison was by my side in an instant. She knelt next to me; a concerned expression etched onto her face. "Are you alright? What can I do?"
"Did you put that ambulance on speed dial as I requested?" I jokingly asked, chuckling, and then immediately flinching at the piercing stabs that radiated throughout my upper half.
"I knew I was pushing myself too hard at the restaurant," I mumbled.
Addison guided me to lie back against the pillows. "Why don't you take it easy? I'll go grab you an ice pack." She turned to leave before pausing and returning to tuck the lavender comforter beneath my chin. "In case you get cold," she muttered.
She disappeared downstairs and came back in a flash, helping me to slide the ice pack beneath me as I cursed in agony. Gingerly perching on the edge of the bed, she bit her lip. "Maybe it will loosen up the kink if I massage it?" She suggested.
I scoffed at the idea. "Yea, thanks but no thanks. That's a bit too weird for me."
"Why?" she narrowed her eyes.
I gave her a pointed look. "Do you want to explain to my girlfriend why I was in your bed at midnight, letting you give me a rubdown?"
She rolled her eyes. "It's not anything sensual. It's the same as going to a spa and getting a massage there."
"Yea, I'm a guy. I don't go to spas, so I fail to see your point." I clutched at my back as another spasm left me gasping.
"Fuck," I exclaimed through gritted teeth. "Okay, screw it. I'm in so much fucking pain right now I don't care if it was the devil himself offering to work on me. Surely, Vanessa will understand."
I carefully slipped my t-shirt off and rolled over onto my stomach with Addison's aid. She hovered her touch above my bare skin, and I figured that despite her insistence, the whole thing was probably a tad awkward for her too.
"You don't have to, Addie," I assured her. "I'll be fine, eventually."
"Don't be silly. I'm just figuring out my angle." She crawled onto the bed and wedged my legs in between her thighs as she sat down on top of me.
She laughed nervously. "Alright, perhaps this does feel a little strange."
I glanced over my shoulder at her. "Is anyone really friends with somebody until they've been thrusted into an uncomfortably close situation with them?"
Giggling, she leisurely began sliding her palms up and down the muscles of my back. "No, I suppose not," she agreed, a hint of dreaminess in her tone.
***